What's up with the Cold Steel hate around here?

[n8swag]

What I've heard is that cold steel only designs the knives but hires other companies to make them. Anyone verify this? That kind of turns me off.... Even though I have heard they're durable.

 

[Reignman]

I've personally beat the shit out of my cold steel ti-lite.... and while I havent deliberately tried to break it, that little knife took a beating where other knives failed.

 

[G. Scott H.]

What I've heard is that cold steel only designs the knives but hires other companies to make them. Anyone verify this? That kind of turns me off.... Even though I have heard they're durable.

Most of their machetes have been made by a known South African maker (don't recall the name atm, but 42Blades mentioned in in a recent thread), and their Carbon V blades were made by Camillus. Their swords are mostly made by a subcontractor of Windlass Steelcrafts in India (I've heard Windlass is actually just a supplier/distributor), and I believe some were/are made by Fred Chen in China (no relation to Paul Chen/Hanwei, afaik). I think much of their folder and fixed blade stuff is just contracted to various factories in Japan, Taiwan, and China.

 

[iwouldhurtafly]

Either way if you like them or not you can do some pretty cool stuff with them...

 

[bigretic]

I have a couple voyagers.I believe these were made in Japan.They do what they are supposed to do and are plenty tough.I think most of the dislike comes from the outlandish videos.

 

[dogstar]

I don't buy expensive stuff, because there is plenty of good stuff to be had for a good price. All of my CS is inexpensive, but I have not had any failures, just good times. I own the True Flight Thrower, both size Barong Machetes, Special Forces Shovel, and Frontier hawk.

Granted, these items are made overseas... that's why I support Buck USA products.

About the "proof" videos, I think you guys are a bit to stodgy. Of course they are over the top, that's what makes them fun! Who here watches nothing but Oscar winners, or do we all enjoy a little mindless schlock? Tell me you didn't wonder if a Chinese war sword could cut through two pigs. Not that different than the feudal Japanese practice of sword testing on corpses. At least they donate the meat to charity. Lighten up, guys.

 

[jlwatts3]

I like my CS's. Probably gonna buy an OSS just for the hell of it soon.

 

[Nutty Knife Nut]

I bought the new Voyager last year and carried and used it at work for a whole year and it is a solid knife.

 

[unklfranco]

I used to purhcase thier products because I liked the some of the designs. I stopped buying from them because they sold me a $20 Bushmaster that had a weird grind. I spoke with their customer service and was politely blown off. I then sold off my CS knives that I wasnt using anyway and wont buy from them ever again. Customer service is just as important to me as the product. Now I only buy ESEE, Busse, Ontario, Spyderco and Benchmade. I even have 2 Enlans which I really like. Now that I know what quality knives are, I would not recommend Cold Steel to a friend or family member with the exception of the Magnum Kukri machete. It comes unsharpened so no worries about grinds with that one. I do like the look of the trailmaster but a friend of mine has an M-Tech 151 which is a copy of the TM and he has put it through some serious work and has had no problems. BTW, the M-Tec is a $22 dollar knife that is stainless too.

 

[Vicarious Reality]

My favourite CS knife is my Am. Lawman and the Gi tanto

And yes, i own some of their several-hundred-dollar knives

I want a vertically thinner and longer Am Law without handle points made with shirogami 2b

 

[Ken44]

I just like better knives myself. Had an old SRK, and a Master Hunter in carbon V, but sold them.
Didn't care for the rubber handles, and much prefer micarta, and hand made fixed blades.
I do hate their marketing though, so I wouldn't buy another even if they came out with a model I did like.

 

[BOrrell]

Had some recommendations(from this forum) about a CS Lawman; haven't located one I like the price of; is it a decent knife?

 

[Moosez45]

I have had and currently own several CS products. They have all worked as advertised, and the one that I broke, a Trail Hawk, was replaced in less than 3 days total turn around. And I think the Triad Lock by Demko is one of the best innovations to come to folding knives in a long time.

The Pocket Bushman is one of the toughest, most uncomfortable knives I've ever owned, but it works really well.

I don't hate them. I am disgusted with them and Buck and Case and Kbar and Camilius and .... who have closed USA factories and put thousands of work and now sell lower quality knives made in China or wherever they can make it the cheapest. A knife is a tool and I will spend the extra $$ to get good made in USA tools.
Scott

KA-BAR only has about 15% of its products made overseas, and they are moving more and more back to the US as they can. Like, sheaths, large fixed blades (ZK Series) and many others. Designer series such as JAB, BKT, and the American Classic series, have always been made in the US. Using us labor and materials.

[video=youtube;ttrKq70Mlss]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttrKq70Mlss&feature=relmfu[/video]

I don't hate Cold Steel, they make some solid knives, but the copied designs, over the top marketing, and price have given them a bum wrap. That said, I won't buy one.

I like my Cold Steel's made in the USA.

Moose

 

[AKC]

The main persona behind any knife I own is a big factor for me. Having dealt personally with LT on several occasions, I have ZERO respect for the man, and wouldn't have a CS knife if it were given to me.

But I wouldn't call it hate....

 

[mkjellgren]

My biggest problem with cold steel is honestly their fans. The marketing is cheesy, but we all see through that, the knives are decent and make excellent beater knives, the triad lock is one of the best in the business, but the obnoxious fans drive me away. The worst are the folks who make threads like "cold steel vs some other expensive knife way out of my price range" blade that basically say, "I love cold steel because it's the only good knife I have, how does it compare to knife X?" Then when someone else says "cold steel is okay, but not even in the same league as knife X" the cold steel fanbois get defensive and claim cold steel is the bestest strongest most hard core brand out there and aus8 is just as good as super steel X. And then as you all know, an argument ensues. The whole thing just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The knives are decent, but a little too mall ninja ish for my taste, but the marketing and the diehard fans drive me crazy.

 

[Fanglekai]

Their style reminds me of that kid who just got a new, all black tactical knife and thinks he's a big man just because he has a "weapon". Cold steel doesn't really advertise their knives as utility tools. I don't need a knife for fighting, thus, I don't like cold steel's advertising. I mean, they could have done other tests that would prove a knife, without emphasizing things such as stabbing potential, or how many kevlar vests it goes through, or how much flesh it can seperate. Those are not very daily task types of things, and just seem to be over the top to me.

I agree. I don't like how they portray knives as dangerous killing weapons. It makes things more difficult for the average guy who carries a knife as a tool to use because people see those videos and think knives are all weapons meant to disembowel people.

 

[Ankerson]

My biggest problem with cold steel is honestly their fans. The marketing is cheesy, but we all see through that, the knives are decent and make excellent beater knives, the triad lock is one of the best in the business, but the obnoxious fans drive me away. The worst are the folks who make threads like "cold steel vs some other expensive knife way out of my price range" blade that basically say, "I love cold steel because it's the only good knife I have, how does it compare to knife X?" Then when someone else says "cold steel is okay, but not even in the same league as knife X" the cold steel fanbois get defensive and claim cold steel is the bestest strongest most hard core brand out there and aus8 is just as good as super steel X. And then as you all know, an argument ensues. The whole thing just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The knives are decent, but a little too mall ninja ish for my taste, but the marketing and the diehard fans drive me crazy.

Those threads are always really funny to read.

 

[helobite]

Years ago Cold Steel had a subforum but they walked away. From then on the hate on this site increased to fanatical levels. I saw haters gang up on people who liked Cold Steel knives and too many times Moderators stepped on the side of the haters. It was a very hostile environment for anyone who liked a Cold Steel knife.

Then Cold Steel opened its own forum and eyeballs walked. It was amazing to see how many posts and how many posters joined the Cold Steel forum in such a short time. Since eyeballs translate to revenue, it appears the management here attempted to tone down the Cold Steel hate, to bring people back.

From what I have seen is that it is easy to create a hostile environment against anyone and anything on the internet. All it takes is pruning of voices and the encouragement of hate based theories.

1.What I've heard is that cold steel only designs the knives but hires other companies to make them. Anyone verify this? That kind of turns me off....

Fold up your computer, smash your cell phone, and toss all your electronic devices in the garbage, because none of them are made in a factory owned by the brand on the label. Unless it was designed and manufactured in mainland China and has a Chinese brand name. Even if it was designed by Chinese, they still put legacy American brand names on their products before shipping to the US. It is also amazing how people are loyal to brand names.

 

[Dorito Monk]

My biggest problem with cold steel is honestly their fans. The marketing is cheesy, but we all see through that, the knives are decent and make excellent beater knives, the triad lock is one of the best in the business, but the obnoxious fans drive me away. The worst are the folks who make threads like "cold steel vs some other expensive knife way out of my price range" blade that basically say, "I love cold steel because it's the only good knife I have, how does it compare to knife X?" Then when someone else says "cold steel is okay, but not even in the same league as knife X" the cold steel fanbois get defensive and claim cold steel is the bestest strongest most hard core brand out there and aus8 is just as good as super steel X. And then as you all know, an argument ensues. The whole thing just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The knives are decent, but a little too mall ninja ish for my taste, but the marketing and the diehard fans drive me crazy.

Haha, I love reading those threads. :thumbup:

Someone will go "I'd like Cold Steel a lot more if they'd start using higher end steels", and a bunch of fan boys will pop out of nowhere and go "AUS-8 IS A VERY EXCELLENT USER STEEL AT THIS PRICE POINT! IT'S A BARGAIN! IT'S THE BEST STEEL IN THE WORLD! I DON'T NEED NO FANCY SUPER STEELS AND NEITHER DO YOU!".

Speaking to the products alone, I've had mixed experiences with Cold Steel. I owned a couple of tomahawks and a Ti-Lite that were rather junky, but then I owned an American Lawman that was a very well made knife (but was really uncomfortable for me). I also own a longsword trainer from them (which I bought on a whim for no reason whatsoever...I don't know what I was thinking). So, yeah, some of their products seem to be decent, some of them seem to be junk, and others are just really, really silly. I've owned at least one of each, and I'm not sure how I feel about the company overall.

As to the marketing, I think it's beyond stupid. Some fat office worker takes a knife and slashes away at a piece of hanging meat, a cardboard tube, a rubber boot stuffed with meat...

...and then when they have to do things like use their knives as chinup bars or stand on them, Lynn has to call up his skinny friends to help because he hasn't done any exercise since the 70's.

[youtube]?feature=player_detailpage&v=TLIIxkS-juQ#t=111s[/youtube]

Yeah, that really makes me want to buy one of their knives. "With the Cold Steel _____, you too could cut meat, cut cardboard, and make an idiot out of yourself!" - No thanks, Lynn, these are things I've been doing for years without any help from Cold Steel.

 

[FTR-14c]

I had a Master Hunter in San Mai III that I trusted enough to give to a friend. It performed very well and held a good edge.

I have tried a few fixed and folders in AUS-8 that I was not crazy about, it just seemed to dull and dent to easy.